Influence of backbone conformational rigidity in temperature-sensitive amphiphilic supramolecular assemblies.

Molecular design features that endow amphiphilic supramolecular assemblies with a unique temperature-sensitive transition have been investigated. We find that conformational rigidity in the backbone is an important feature for eliciting this feature. We also find that intramolecular hydrogen-bonding can induce such rigidity in amphiphile backbone. Guest encapsulation stability of these assemblies was found to be significantly altered within a narrow temperature window, which correlates with the temperature-sensitive size transition of the molecular assembly. Molecular design principles demonstrated here could have broad implications in developing future temperature-responsive systems.